Twenty new recruits will be sworn in as officers in the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department and 23 long-standing officers will be promoted in a joint pinning/promotion ceremony Friday.

The ceremony begins at 3 p.m. in the auditorium of the Armstrong Center at Armstrong Atlantic State University on Abercorn Street.

It marks the end of 19 weeks of training for the recruits, including six weeks at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Garden City. After the ceremony, they will each be paired with a training officer for an additional 10 weeks before they can patrol on their own.

Among the officers promoted will be two captains promoted to major, the highest rank below Police Chief Willie Lovett and the four individuals he will depend on to help lead the department.

Others being promoted include five to the rank of captain, two lieutenants and a dozen sergeants. One lieutenant and four sergeants actually were promoted in December, but their ceremony was delayed.

Former Savannah Police Department Chief David Gellatly will deliver the keynote address, and each of the honorees will be pinned by someone they have chosen.